Loud is the fifth studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on November 12, 2010, by Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. The album was recorded between February and August 2010, during the singer's Last Girl on Earth tour (2010–2011) and the filming of her first feature film Battleship (2012). Rihanna and L.A. Reid were the executive producers of Loud and worked with various record producers, including Stargate, Sandy Vee, The Runners, Tricky Stewart and Alex da Kid. The album features several guest vocalists, including rappers Drake, Nicki Minaj, and Eminem, who is featured on the sequel to "Love the Way You Lie", titled "Love the Way You Lie (Part II)".
Primarily a dance-pop and R&B record, Loud differs from Rihanna's previous effort, Rated R (2009), which incorporates a prominently foreboding and angry tone and dark themes. Loud features up-tempo songs, and marks the return of the bright, optimistic sound prominent on her first two albums Music of the Sun (2005) and A Girl Like Me (2006). It also uses rock in "California King Bed" and reggae in the Caribbean-inspired "Man Down".
Loud received positive reviews from music critics, who complimented its upbeat material and Rihanna's vocal performances, while others stated that although the songs were solid, they were unfocused to each other. The album was a commercial success; it debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, with sales of 207,000 copies, the highest first-week sales of her career at the time. The album peaked at number one on the Canadian, Swiss and the UK album charts. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), Loud was the eighth global best-selling album of 2011. Since its release, it has sold over 8 million copies worldwide.
The album produced seven singles, including the international hits "Only Girl (In the World)", "What's My Name?", and "S&M". All three singles reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. "S&M" was Rihanna's tenth number one song in the US, making Rihanna the youngest recording artist to accumulate the plateau in the shortest time, surpassing Mariah Carey. "Only Girl (In the World)" won the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording in February 2011; additionally, the album was nominated for three more Grammy Awards, including for Album of the Year. To support the album, Rihanna embarked on her third worldwide concert tour, entitled the Loud Tour.
Background Following a domestic violence case between Rihanna and her boyfriend, the American entertainer Chris Brown, media speculated as to whether any song on her fourth studio album would be about him. The album was released in November 2009, under the title Rated R. Primarily a pop and R&B album, it also incorporates elements of hip hop, rock, and dancehall. Rated R was commercially successful and spawned six singles, including the international hit, "Rude Boy". Six months after releasing the record, Rihanna began planning a fifth studio album, promising that her new material would be "more energetic" than her previous works.
Stargate's Tor Erik Hermansen, said "Rihanna came to us before we started recording 'Only Girl (In the World)' and said 'I feel great about myself. I want to go back to having fun, I want to make happy and up-tempo records'." Sean Garrett compared the sound of the new tracks with her previous hit singles "Umbrella" and "Rude Boy". In an interview for MTV UK, the vice president of Def Jam Recordings compared the upcoming Rihanna album with Michael Jackson's Thriller saying, "Rihanna is coming along incredibly. I'm trying to push her to where every song will be a hit from one to 12. I'm talking about NO album fillers. Our bar for this album is Michael Jackson's Thriller."
Recording and title
Rihanna and Antonio "L.A." Reid assembled a group of songwriters and record producers at several recording studios in Los Angeles for two weeks to write songs for Rihanna; they wrote approximately 200 songs, eleven of which were included on the album. Def Jam rented out nearly every recording studio in Los Angeles in order to create as many songs as possible. Ray Daniels, the manager of musical duo Rock City (brothers Theron and Timothy Thomas), was present during the sessions, and stated that a writing camp typically involves the label hiring ten recording studios for two weeks at the cost of $25,000 per day. Daniels revealed that it is where songwriters have lyrics but no music, and where producers have music but no lyrics.
Singer-songwriters and producers Taio Cruz, Alex da Kid, Sean Garrett, Ne-Yo, Rico Love, Timbaland, Shontelle, David Guetta, and Drake contributed to the album. "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" was written for Rihanna, but the song was rejected and was subsequently sent to Usher. With regard to "What's My Name?", Rihanna thought Drake could understand the melody of the song and invited him to work on the track when she played him the finished recording. The collaboration was originally planned to be a remix, but later it was decided that the version featuring Drake would be used as the original.
Loud was recorded in various recording studios worldwide including the Larrabee Sound Studios, The Village and Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, Platinum Sound Recording Studios, and Roc the Mic Studios in New York City and The Bunker Studios in Paris. In September 2010, during a webchat with her fansite Rihannadaily.com, Rihanna announced that the album would be called Loud, saying "get Loud everybody, get crazy, get excited, because I'm pumped. I'm just gonna be me because that's what you guys love the most, and that's what makes me feel best. Just being normal, normal for me is Loud! Sassy, fun, flirty, energetic." While Rihanna was filming Battleship, she explained in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, "Loud is, the word, the name of the album definitely reflects the attitude of it, it's really sassy and flirty and it grabs your attention and that's why I enjoy it. It takes you through a really really interesting ride. So colorful the album."
Composition Influence and sound Loud is a departure from the personal, melodramatic themes of Rated R. Stylistically, it is a return to the Caribbean-inspired dance-pop of Rihanna's earlier work. Ryan Burleson of Consequence of Sound described the album as "a dynamic R&B and dance-pop record". In an interview with MTV, Rihanna said "I wanted songs that were all Rihanna songs, that nobody else could do. I didn't want the generic pop record that Ke$ha or Lady Gaga or Katy Perry could just do and it'll work. I wanted a song, or songs, that were Rihanna songs, that only I could do, had that little West Indian vibe to it, had that certain tone, a certain sass and a certain energy." During the promotion of Loud, Rihanna said that much of the music was born out of frustration. She explained: "When you go to a club and have to listen to bad music you revert to the liquor, because you want to have a good time. I hate having to skip a track. I wanted to make an album you can just play."
Songs The opening track "S&M" is an up-tempo Eurodance song produced by Norwegian producers Stargate and Sandy Vee. The song is reminiscent of Depeche Mode's 1984 song "Master and Servant" and contains lyrical thoughts of sadomasochism. Andy Kellman of AllMusic regarded "S&M" as a dance-pop song which efficiently balanced "Rihanna's playful and sinister sides". "What's My Name?" was also produced by Stargate and features guest vocals from Canadian rapper Drake. It is a mid-tempo, electro-R&B song with a back track consisting of heavy reggae. The song also sees Rihanna's return to the "Island-pop" style of her early career".- - "Cheers (Drink to That)" is a pop rock song produced by the Runners which interpolates Avril Lavigne's 2002 single "I'm with You". Mark Savage from BBC News described the song as a funky, loping guitar groove for a night out on the town. "Only Girl (In the World)" was the third song from the album produced by Stargate. It is an up-tempo dance-pop song that incorporates elements of Eurodance in its production. Brad Wete, a reviewer of Entertainment Weekly, described Rihanna's vocals as "seductive" and reminiscent of a "stronger, sexier version" of her 2007 single, "Don't Stop the Music".
"California King Bed" is a rock power ballad; Ryan Dombell of Pitchfork compared it to the Aerosmith song, "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing".- - The Shama "SAK PASE" Joseph produced "Man Down" is a reggae song with an electro rhythm, in which Rihanna sings in a West Indian accent. "Raining Men" is a hip-hop song, which features rap vocals from rapper Nicki Minaj. Rihanna described the song as a fun song that differs from the original, referring to the 1979 single by the Weather Girls with similar title "It's Raining Men". "Complicated" was produced by Tricky Stewart and Ester Dean. Leah Greenblatt from Entertainment Weekly said "Even while telling a recalcitrant man how hard he is to love, she [Rihanna] sounds almost buoyant, her newly expanded vocals eager to scale the song's high-altitude house beat". The final track is the sequel to Rihanna's duet with Eminem, "Love the Way You Lie". "Love the Way You Lie (Part II)", which was produced by Alex da Kid, features Rihanna as the protagonist and lead vocalist, viewing aspects of a relationship from a female perspective, unlike the original, which featured Eminem as lead vocalist and was from a male perspective.
Singles "Only Girl (In the World)" was released as the album's lead single on September 10, 2010. The song was sent to US mainstream and rhythmic radio on September 21, 2010. It received positive reviews from music critics, who praised its chorus and thunderous dance beats. The song reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, in the UK, Canada, Australia, Austria, Belgium (Wallonia), Ireland, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, Norway and Slovakia, becoming one of her best charting songs to date. At the 53rd Grammy Awards, held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on February 13, 2011, "Only Girl (In the World)" won the award for Best Dance Recording.
"What's My Name?", which features guest vocals by Canadian recording artist Drake, was released as the album's second single; it was sent to US rhythmic radios on October 25, 2010. Music critics praised the song as some of Rihanna's best vocal work to date, noting the romantic nature of the song and its sexual tones. The song peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, giving Rihanna her eighth number-one on the chart, while "Only Girl (In the World)" became her ninth number-one song two weeks after "What's My Name?".- It reached number one in the United Kingdom and became Rihanna's fifth UK number one single and Drake's first.
"Raining Men", was sent to urban radio on December 7, 2010, as an urban radio single and third track from Loud as a single in the US. The song featured rapper Nicki Minaj. It peaked at number 48 on the US Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. "Raining Men" received mixed reviews from critics who praised the chemistry between Rihanna and Minaj but criticized the song for failing to create anything new or original.
"S&M", the album's fourth US single and third international single, was solicited to US mainstream radio on January 23, 2011. Reception of "S&M" was mixed; some reviewers criticized the overt use of sexual lyrics while others noted it as a stand-out track from Loud. A remix of the song which features guest vocals by Britney Spears, was digitally released on April 11, 2011. "S&M" reached the top ten in twenty-four countries and peaked at number one in Australia, Canada and the United States.